China Responds to the Donald

Matt Drudge, increasingly a shill for Donald Trump, blares out the headline: Trump Drives China Crazy!

We turn to the Wall Street Journal story that Drudge links and find that the finance minister of China, Lou Jiwei made the following remarks:

Mr. Trump has advocated imposing up to 45% tariffs on China as a way to force it to change its trade policies. Mr. Lou, known in China for his bluff outspokenness, said in an exclusive interview with The Wall Street Journal that such a tariff would violate World Trade Organization rules. Under those conditions, he said, the U.S. wouldn’t be entitled to its position as the world’s major power.

Mr. Lou is correct on the trade rules, according to Jeffrey Schott, a trade economist at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, a think tank backing free trade.

“Almost any across-the-board tariff increase would violate U.S. obligations under the WTO,” he said.

You recall that Trump has declared that he would renegotiate trade deals with China and that if China did not bow down to his superior will, he would impose a 45% tariff on all Chinese goods coming into this country. We will mention, again, that such a tariff would raise the price of everything at Walmart and many other stores by 45%, which would represent a regressive tax on consumers.

Fortunately for the Teflon Don, his supporters have not noticed, have not thought about it, or do not care. Being the Donald means you do not have to play  by the rules. Don't you know that?

Why this suggests that Trump is driving China crazy escapes me entirely.